While some external links might link to all of their subdomains, most will only link to one or at most two.

Each subdomain basically functions as a separate “business” within the overall corporation.

When subdomains are used in this way, they can be very successful for obtaining great rankings. Each subdomain stands on its own and may or may not be linked to from the main entity.

These links become very important and are the biggest factor in choosing to use a subdomain over a subfolder.

If your content on the subdomain will function as a separate entity and obtain its own link value, then it’s fine and in some cases even preferable to have your content on subdomains.

After all, links to cars.disney.com can all be about the “Cars” movie franchise, instead of diluting the topical focus of the site into theme parks, entertainment media, and shopping, just to name a few.

Why Choose a Subfolder Over a Subdomain?

But most businesses aren’t as faceted as Disney.

Most sites focus on one or two main topics.

An attorney site is a good example.

Suppose the site focuses on family, personal injury, and liability law.

While the site could break these areas into individual subdomains – familylaw.site.com, for example, and Google will treat this the same as site.com/family-law – the site owner will have to obtain links to each individual subdomain that are topically focused.

This might be easier to see visually:

This is assuming each link is equal, which would never happen in reality. But if it did, each site would have some links pointing to it.

If you do a really good job of internal linking between the subdomains, then there may be some overlap and shared value.

However, if you start with one main domain and then obtain links to subfolders (all part of the same site), you’ll have 63 total links pointing to the main subdomain or domain you’ve chosen to use:

In both of these examples, it’s up to you as a site owner how you would like to design, develop, and maintain your site(s).

Unless there’s a compelling reason to separate business units, the subfolder approach is far less work.

Because it is less work, you’re more likely to maintain it, which will likely translate into better rankings.

Summary

If you want to do the work of building out separate entity profiles and link value for multiple subdomains, go right ahead. Google really doesn’t care whether they rank subdomains or subfolders.

But if you’re maxed out on time fully optimizing one domain, let alone multiple domains, then subfolders are probably a better option for you.

Image Credits

Featured Image: Paulo BobitaScreenshots created by author, February 2018